According to official statistics, approximately one in ten people in Thailand own a gun.

According to data released by the University of Washington, Thailand has the highest reported rate of gun-related deaths of ten countries in Asia – around 50 percent higher than the Philippines which is the second country on the list.

Official statistics claim that around one in ten people own a gun in Thailand. There are over six million registered guns in Thailand for a population of 67 million, says the country’s Interior Ministry. Data from gunpolicy.org, by the Sydney School of Public Health, shows however that illegal firearms push the figure closer to ten million.

It has been legal to own firearms in Thailand since 1947, and the law states a license can be issued for self-protection, security of property, sports and hunting. A handgun and license can be bought for around $600 without having to fill in paperwork.

In 2013, Thailand saw 7.48 deaths per 100,000 people from shootings, twice that per capita than the United States. Gun experts also say that a lack of knowledge of Thai guns laws could be contributing to the fatality rate.

“People must understand the law. Many Thais own a gun but have no idea about the law”, said Wanphiti Wanalert, a former police gun instructor. “They are not even interested in knowing the law. But once you own a gun there is already a chance that you could break the law”.

Thai police say a majority of cases are armed robberies, crimes of passion and organised crime. Shooting in self-defence has also contributed to these statistics, but is not considered a crime in Thailand.

“The law states that if an intruder enters our home holding a weapon, the home owner can shoot them and will be protected under the law”, said Nathapong Thuamkred from Jarrett Lloyd Legal Consultants.

To combat illegal firearms, Thailand has in the past enacted amnesty acts to encourage people to surrender their firearms, but gun ownership still remains high.

Hi BF. We had another discussion recently where the statistics used in this summary were found to be maybe overstated or otherwise questionable. Maybe Thailand does have a real problem with Guns but that's not to let the USA off the hook for the terrible situation with a lack of real gun control.You might be interested in a report in the Guardian.co.uk today which states that in 2015, in the USA, toddlers killed more people than terrorists.And last week, a lady called Jamie Gilt, who has built a thriving web presence with the argument that guns are safe around kids, was shot with her own '45 handgun by her 4 year old.The report says that over recent decades the Gun Lobby, have continued to manage to roll back firearm restrictions. Hapless as the situation in Thailand might be, the USA, a very influential nation in the World, is widely held in disdain and contempt for it's attitude to gun control.

BF. The Guardian again today has a report on Gun Control in Australia. The Headline states it took just ONE massacre for Australia to introduce new measures in 1996.Since then gun deaths from homicides seem to have fallen by 80% and gun deaths from suicides by 66%. E & O.E.Have a look M8 on Guardian.co.uk

Toddlers causing injury or death is the fault of the irresponsible parents for that child, not an entire nation, and that number is 21. If you count Americans that were also killed by terrorist in the Paris attacks then the number of deaths from terrorists is 20. Not a huge difference is it, compared to how many toddlers are killed by ISIS in middle eastern countries or how you kids murder people. Those numbers are probably staggering compared to toddler related deaths in the US. Besides, comparing a toddler to a terrorist is nonsense. When I'm out and about I'm not looking for some toddler with a gun behind my back. Americans kill more Americans than terrorists so what's the point? Thais kill each other in road accidents every day more than terrorists. 18,000 Thais die of alcohol-related problems annually (more than terrorists related deaths). Cars in general kill more Americans than terrorists. How about knives, feet, and hands that have killed people more than terrorists?

The article is for the year 2015. What about in 2001 and 911? What about all the other years. It's easy to cherry pick figures when it suits the writer's purpose.

The leading causes of death of children under five include:

Diarrhea Malaria Malnutrition Pneumonia Preterm birth conditions

Pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria together are the cause of 3 out of every 10 child deaths before the age of 5 and nearly half of under-five deaths globally are attributable to under nutrition.

Hi BF - but it is still a startling point isn't it ? Maybe the argument doesn't stand much examining overall but when toddlers are killing more people in the USA than terrorists it makes you blink !

Thanks for your response - you seem so against Gun Control but I thought you would enjoy the article anyway. Some of the Folks against gun control, like the prominent blogger, Jamie Gilt, seem in fairness to be quite irresponsible.

Hi Roger. One thing I forgot to mention. I think comparing the toddlers to terrorists is not a fair comparison. Toddlers don't plan and commit premeditated murder. They don't ram airplanes into buildings or shoot up health clinics, etc. I'll wager to say that all of the toddler gun deaths were accidents and not planned or premeditated. In other words, they didn't know right from wrong and I blame the dumb parents for that. The bottom line for me is I fear terrorists more than a toddler. Those accidents were isolated incidents. Everyone is a target for a terrorists. Toddlers don't proactively go out and plan to kill people with guns. Just my thoughts.